by fierce overseas competition, production cuts by clients and fragile finances.

Telefonica considers US listing for LatAm ops

Spanish telecom company Telefonica is considering grouping its Latin American businesses into a Spanish holding company to list in New York next year, newspaper Expansion reported on Monday. The firm is on a debt-cutting drive after years of credit-fueled expansion and successfully listed part of its German unit in October. Should Telefonica need to raise more cash next year, its most likely plan is to float a minority stake in a newly-created holding company for its Latin American assets, Expansion said, without citing sources. The Latin America initial public offering process is ongoing, and no decision has been taken in this regard, a spokesman for Telefonica said.

Samsung finds labour violations at China vendors

Samsung Electronics Co. says its audit of Chinese suppliers found illegal labour practices such as excessive overtime. Samsung said Monday it found instances of Chinese employees working overtime beyond legal hours and being fined for absence or tardiness. The company conducted a four-week audit of 105 suppliers in China after allegations it was ignoring illegal labour practices. China Labor Watch, a New York-based labor rights group, said in August that Samsung’s suppliers hired children and working conditions were “inhumane”. Samsung said its audit team found no child labour, but its suppliers must adopt new hiring procedures and it would cancel contracts if child labour is found.